American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by Avalon Trust Co

Avalon Trust Co boosted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 751 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 66 shares during the quarter. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in American Express were worth $141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its position in shares of American Express by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP traded down $1.73 on Friday, reaching $230.77. 3,203,304 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,577,762. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $240.55. The firm has a market cap of $165.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $224.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.88.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

American Express Company Profile

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.